Currently, it is possible to embed various objects and elements created by content providers and developers into the websites of third party online content providers. Objects such as movies, pictures and advertisements, backed by various web analytics, can be embedded into many web pages to facilitate and promote strategic cooperation between various online services and content providers. The cooperative agreements developed by the various participating entities can be significant revenue generators when the proper model is used for charging and sharing fees for a particular embedded object.
A typical goal of embedding objects into a third party website is to drive online traffic to one or more other websites. On the side of the entity offering the object to be embedded, the goal is to draw users to another website or display advertising material for goods or services. On the side of the website in which the object is embedded, the goal is to generate advertising revenue, increase content value or co-brand content with another provider in an effort to increase online visibility. Contemporary systems that embed objects either embed a) static text links, b) linear visual content (e.g., an audio or video player) or c) at most, a simple single player games. These types of embedded objects have various levels of success that content providers and website operator try to quantify to help price their advertising space.
The effectiveness or commercial success of an object embedded in a particular website is often measured in terms of click-through rate. Click-through rate or CTR is a way of measuring the success of an embedded object or online advertising campaign. A CTR is obtained by dividing the number of users who clicked on an ad or other object embedded on a website by the number of times the ad or other embedded object was delivered (impressions). For example, if a banner ad was delivered 100 times (impressions delivered) and one person clicked on it (clicks recorded), then the resulting CTR would be 1 percent. In addition to knowing the CTR for a particular embedded object on a particular website, it is also useful to know the identity or location of users who click through for purposes of tracking online behavior. Such information can be used to target particular users or groups of users with ads and objects containing ads for goods and services they are most likely to use or purchase. However, most methods of tracking online behavior require saving a unique “cookie” on users' computers. In many cases, this requires users to log onto a particular website, which some users may be reluctant to do for security or privacy concerns. In addition, many users disable or delete cookies from their computer to hide their identity to reduce the perceived risk associated with being online. This type of online user behavior can easily thwart the ability of an online advertiser to evaluate the effectiveness of or target an online campaign.